Godric's Hollow
by everydayastory
Summary: Fifteen-year-old Lily ends up in adult Snape's memory of visiting Godric's Hollow right after the Potter murders. She sees it from his perspective and gets a glimpse of her future. One-shot.


_Basically Lily gets thrown into Snape's memory of visiting Godric's Hollow right after the Potter murders (this memory only shows up in the movie, so it's kind of a crossover, but I thought it was one of the best scenes), but he can't see her. It's like she's in the Pensieve except she has no idea; she's about fifteen, right after she and Snape had their falling out. Confusion and sadness ensue as she accidentally sees part of her future._

"Sev?" I whispered. Why… why was he so much older? Was it even him? No, it had to be him.

"Severus, what's going on? Why are we in Godric's Hollow?" He wasn't answering. I suppose I couldn't blame him, after everything. But that was no excuse. Severus seemed almost… defeated. He stared up at the house before us, his expression the most destroyed one I had ever seen. The Dark Mark hung ominously above us, and my heart sped up. Someone was dead here. Someone killed by Death Eaters. Death Eaters like Severus wanted to be.

He started slowly walking into the cottage. He passed the gate and I followed. I got a strange feeling of déjà vu. But that was impossible. I'd never even been to Godric's Hollow.

I panicked. He wasn't listening to me. "SEV!" I yelled, as loud as I could. Still he didn't turn. "I'm here! It's me! _Lily_!"

Finally I ran up to him and poked him hard in the arm. He blinked and looked at the spot in surprise, like he hadn't expected it. He stared hard at me. "Lily…" he murmured softly.

I sighed in relief. "Yes, yes, I'm here! Now why are _we_ here? I thought I told you I don't want anything more to do with you or your Death Eater…" I trailed off when I realized he really couldn't hear me. He used to be my best friend in the world. What _happened_?

A tear ran down my cheek and I hastily wiped it away. Now was no time to cry. I looked up and realized it was late autumn in Godric's Hollow. It was beautiful in a tragic sort of way, with the leaves a thousand shades of red and gold. I thought morbidly that this would be a wonderful place to die.

Severus went into the cottage. I followed close behind. He whispered my name once more and I looked up, expecting him to notice me at last. But he didn't.

The inside of the cottage was filled with debris. The couch was overturned and ripped. Pictures frames were broken and the glass shattered. Broken glass was spread around the ground floor.

I was so busy trying to get Sev's attention that I didn't notice as we began to climb the stairs. I tried to get around him so I could enter the hallway first, but when I moved past him I saw something that made me shriek pitifully. Severus obviously expected to see it, because he didn't even pause.

James Potter was lying on the stairs, unmoving. He had no wand on him and looked not quite peaceful. His glasses were slightly askew, his hair perpetually ruffled. Something cracked in my heart, seeing him so lifeless and empty. I knelt beside him and Severus continued up the stairs without me.

"James…" I whispered. "What's going on? I just saw you in the Great Hall."

This was impossible. Severus was not older and James was not dead and we were not in Godric's Hollow. _It's only a dream_, I told myself. _I'll wake up any moment now_.

Without thinking, I kissed him on the forehead gently and closed his eyes. He could have been sleeping if he weren't so still.

I realized then that I had lingered too long with James. Reluctantly, I stepped away and up the rest of the stairs.

Severus paused at the door at the end of the hall. I caught up with him. He opened the door and saw…

_Me_, my eyes told me. It certainly looked like me. But my mind didn't comprehend it. I was… I was… dead. My eyes were open and it looked like I'd simply fallen down when I died.

I realized a baby was crying. A baby? Yes, there was a baby in the crib above my – _her_, I corrected myself – body.

The baby looked almost exactly like James, but with… my eyes?

This was too strange to take in. James Potter was downstairs, dead. I was up here, also dead. But this baby (who, I noticed, had a lightning-shaped cut on his forehead) was alive. It was a miracle.

I suddenly recalled the Dark Mark. A single Death Eater couldn't have killed James Potter so easily, I was sure. A group of Death Eaters, perhaps? But why?

I turned to Severus, ready to accuse him of… something. But he was already on the ground, with the older me in his arms. The baby watched and cried louder. This man wasn't his father. I realized with a jolt that his father must be James.

That made his mother… me. I snapped and started sobbing with Severus. I sat down on the floor and watched as he held me to him. I realized that this was real. Horribly, horribly real.

I tried to wipe the tears from my eyes and reached out for him. "Severus…"

I shot up in bed, sweating and gasping for breath. Tears were pouring down my face, just like they had in the dream. But it wasn't a dream. I knew in my very soul it wasn't just a dream. It had felt too real.

_James_. Oddly, he was the first thought in my mind. He'd been _dead_.

Mary was next to my bed, a concerned look on her face. "Lily?" she said.

"_James_! Where's James?" I asked frantically, grabbing her arm.

Startled, she told me, "He's in the boys' dormitory, like every other boy. You just saw him. Why do you ask?"

"No… reason," I gasped.

"He'd be interested to know you were asking about him." She raised an eyebrow shrewdly. "I think I'd better get you to Madam Pomfrey, Lily."

"No!" I exclaimed. "No, I'm fine. Just a bad dream. That's all, I promise. A dream."


End file.
